Right now, Ford is working with utility and electric power companies around the world to develop a technology that would allow the grid to send messages to plug-in electric cars via the cloud, requesting them to stop charging when electricity use is peaking. That means one day you could qualify for a financial incentive by allowing your utility company to "talk" to your Ford Fusion Hybrid, for example. The program would not only offer monetary benefits to green car owners, but would also benefit the grid during times of high power usage.
The technology, which enables two-way communication between plug-in electric cars and utility companies, has already been tested out and when you see the infographic below you'll understand why it would be an advantage. As you know, the power grid has a max capacity, so during certain times of the day when lots of people are plugging things in, flipping light switches on, turning the A/C up and hitting the TV power-up button, there's always a chance that there could be a power shortage.
Being able to ask a car to stop charging is one of the ways in which utility and power companies believe they can reduce pressure on the grid. And the plan seems pretty smart to us. Check out the image below to see how it could potentially work with cars like the Ford Fusion Hybrid and other electricity powered models.
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